Friday, April 4, 2014

William Temple: “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members."


A Sermon for V Lent                                            All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Southern Shores, NC April 6, 2014                                                        Thomas E. Wilson, Rector
William Temple: “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members."
Today we will be distributing the proceeds from the All Saints’ After Dark program. We stole the idea of the After Dark series from St. Patrick Roman Catholic School in Norfolk, and they stole it from a school in Nashville, Tennessee who probably stole it from someone else. The idea is to have a series of classes in the evening in which volunteers from the community share what they love. We had 85 instructors for 67 classes and over 750 students and 70 volunteer staff for clean-up, welcoming, registration, and administration for four weeks in February. We had chefs from local restaurants, wine, cheese, and beer classes, historians, artists, artisans, craftsmen, medical people, scholars, experts of all kinds and one heck of a lot of fun. And then we give the money we raise back to the community for those in need. We celebrate the community which works together to have fun and works together to make a difference. More than money, All Saints’ expects members to be involved in the making of a better community with their time and talents. Once a month in the Sunday service, we have a “Ministry Moment” when a volunteer shares how community involvement has helped him or her grow spiritually. 
 
All Saints’ has a tight budget and so our church does other fund raisers as well. But we give 10% of the funds raised to the community as a reminder to ourselves that we are not here to be an island of piety for the pious but to be an integral part of the larger community in which God has called us to minister. However, in the past 5 years in the All Saints’ After Dark Program alone, we have netted and contributed more than 46 thousand dollars to local agencies dedicated to helping the less fortunate. We have tried to get other churches to steal the idea from us as well for we believe that the function of a church is to bring life and healing to a broken world.

The lessons for today underscore the call of the faithful community to bring life. In the Hebrew Testament lesson from Ezekiel, the prophet is called to be an instrument for bringing the bones of a shattered community in exile back into vibrant life. In the letter from Paul to the Romans, the apostle calls us away from self-absorption and into being the body of the Risen Christ in the world, to heal the divisions and to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. The Gospel lesson from the Community of the Beloved Disciple remembers the story of Jesus and Lazarus to remind us that we are to go to the tombs of despair and unbind the captives and set them free.

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury during World War II said, “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members." We take him seriously - that our task at All Saints’ is not to create a solid religious institution that will live in splendor but to die to ourselves so that others may live. In the service today, we will have four offerings. The second offering will be the giving of the proceeds of All Saints’ After Dark to five different local ministries that are active in helping the people whom God loves: The Beach Food Pantry, Food For Thought, Interfaith Community Outreach, The Community Care Clinic, and Room at the Inn. The third offering will be the tithes and offerings of the members of this parish to keep this church institution afloat. The fourth offering will be when all are invited to receive communion with God as we come and offer ourselves to be in union with Christ to bring new life to the world.

Now let us begin the first offering - the prayers of hearts which we offer ourselves and those we love to the throne of Grace for healing of mind, body, and spirit. To begin our offering, I ask you to join with me and turn to page 833 of the Book of Common Prayer where we will say together the prayer attributed to St. Francis.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Most Reverend Archbishop William Temple
(October 15, 1881-October 26, 1944, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, England). Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, 1942-1944. Son of Archbishop Frederick Temple. President, Workers' Educational Association, 1908-1924. Ordained Priest, Anglican Church, December 19, 1909. Headmaster, Repton School, 1910. Honorary Chaplain to George V, WWI. Leader, Life and Liberty Movement. Bishop of Manchester, England, November, 1920. Archbishop of York, 1929-1940. Archbishop of Canterbury, 1942-1944. Outspoken advocate for social reform. Campaigned against poverty, unemployment, and poor housing.
 

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